Pteranodon
|Scientific name = Pteranodon longiceps}} Pteranodon was a large pterosaur from the Cretaceous period. Facts Pteranodon was a large flying reptile with a wingspan of over six metres (twenty feet), and were excellent fliers and gliders. Some Pteranodons possessed a diet of fish and small reptiles, and therefore were normally passive towards humans (except for when a human was threatening their nests), but would swiftly and efficiently pursue fish and reptiles on ground or in the air. (Episode 1.5) Other Pteranodons, however, were carnivorous, and were much more vicious and aggressive towards humans. These aggressive, carnivorous Pteranodons were known to attack and subdue large animals such as humans, then rip their torsos open and devour their internal organs. ( ) Pteranodon was fiercely defensive of their nests and territory, attacking any intruders including humans which entered or even came near their nests. (Episode 2.2, 3.10, ) Pteranodon also regarded the color red as a sign of another Pteranodon of the opposite sex, and were therefore attracted to the color upon seeing it so as to mate with what they believed to be the other Pteranodon. (Episode 1.5) In Primeval )]] Episode 1.1 Connor Temple included Pteranodon in his database of prehistoric creatures. Ben Trent also had several Pteranodon toys in his bedroom. Episode 1.5 A Pteranodon came through an Anomaly to the Forest Heights Country Club golf course in the present. Initially, it was incorrectly blamed by the Home Office Anomaly research team for Andy's death, but in reality it was a flock of Anurognathus. The Pteranodon at one point chased Connor and Rex across the golf course, trying to eat Rex, but the two were both able to escape it. The creature subsequently flew into the city, where it was tranquilised by Nick Cutter and Stephen Hart and brought back to the golf course. )]]Later, once the Pteranodon awoke, it was released and lured back through the Anomaly using a red flag. Episode 2.2 In a desert in the Cretaceous, a Pteranodon attacked Helen Cutter when she stole one of its eggs, wounding her in the leg before flying off. Episode 3.10 A Pteranodon attacked Helen in a Cretaceous forest when she entered its nest trying to reach an Anomaly. Episode 4.1 Several pterosaurs that looked identical to Pteranodon were visible from the Cretaceous forest, flying in the skies. In Primeval: New World A female Pteranodon came through an Anomaly to Stanley Park in the present, and built a nest in the Park. It went into Vancouver and killed Jack one night while Jack was skydiving, and abducted Trevor Molison the next day and kept him captive in its nest. When the Special Projects Group found the Pteranodon's nest, Dylan Weir shot the Pteranodon with numerous tranquilisers until it fell unconscious, while Evan Cross saved Trevor. Shortly afterwards, the Pteranodon regained consciousness when a Utahraptor arrived, and the two creatures fought; the Pteranodon fatally wounded the raptor by ripping its side open with its beak, but was then seemingly killed when the raptor snapped its neck. The Pteranodon was subsequently taken back to Cross Photonics, where it was frozen in the building's freezer room until its body could be returned to its home time. A Pteranodon was seen flying above a Spaghetti Junction at a lake in the Cretaceous. Non-canon At least one Pteranodon became caught up in Chaos, the Anomaly Creature. Trivia *Though it is unconfirmed, fans have speculated that the pterosaurs seen in Episode 1.3, 4.1 and Eye Strain were Pteranodons. However, the pterosaur from Eye Strain had teeth, while Pteranodon had a toothless beak, and its literally means winged toothless in Greek. *The New World Pteranodon has a different visual style than the one from the original show, suggesting that it could be a different species of Pteranodon. *The Pteranodon species seen in New World appears to be more aggressive than the species seen in the original Primeval show; actively engaging in a fight with a Utahraptor, keeping Trevor Molison captive in its nest and even killing Jack. *Pteranodon is the only pterosaur to be identified by name in the show. *Anatomically, the New World Pteranodon is more scientifically accurate than the one from the original UK series, with some down on its back and a more curved crest, but its aggressive behaviour is improbable for an animal believed to have eaten mostly fish. Errors *In Episode 1.5, Pteranodon and Anurognathus both came through the same Anomaly, but in real life, the two species lived in different time periods to one another; Anurognathus in the Jurassic, and Pteranodon in the Cretaceous. Some fans have speculated that the Pteranodon, before travelling through the golf course Anomaly, may have previously come through another Anomaly from the Cretaceous to the Jurassic, or the Anurognathus through an Anomaly from the Jurassic into the Cretaceous. *Pteranodon is portrayed in Primeval as being scaly, but it has been proven that most if not all pterosaurs are covered in fur-like down. The New World Pteranodon, at least, is shown to have small patches of down on its back, but still not nearly enough as it should have. *The Pteranodon in New World is portrayed as having a straight beak while actual Pteranodon had beaks that curved upward. *The Pteranodon in Primeval: New World could also slam its beak into the ground. In real life, this would probably have broken a Pteranodon's beak. *Pteranodon is portrayed as being bipedal, something that pterosaurs could not have been in real life as most of their weight was centred towards the front, causing them to walk on all fours; however there has been a trackway discovered that shows that at least some large pterosaurs could walk on their hind legs (but probably not Pteranodon). *The Pteranodon in New World was seen hunting terrestrial prey (humans), but it is well-known Pteranodon was an animal that preyed exclusively on fish. *The "female" Pteranodon in New World had a male Pteranodon's crest. *Pteranodon was depicted in Episode 3.10 and The New World as nesting on the ground; it is unlikely that Pteranodon did this in real life, as ground nests would have been easy targets for most ground predators of Pteranodon's time, and it was more likely that Pteranodon nested up on high cliffs by the coast where it could fish rather than on the forest floor. Category:Creatures